THE DIVISION BELL

I'm no Roger Waters hater, but i really like this album, but i've tried not let that get in the way of the rating i gave it...i was stuck between giving it 3 stars or 4, but there was something, no matter how much i enjoy this album, that stopped me from giving it the 4. The deciding factor was that this album is way too samey, most of the songs don't sound much different from each other in a way. And some of the songs just aren't very good anyway, when i give this album a listen, it's not all the way through!

I love the opener to the album, Cluster One, it sorta reminds me a little of Yes before the piano enters, and how fitting to signal he full time return of Rick. Very relaxing piece of music, with the stunning tone of Gilmour working alongside Ricks piano and backgrounded by bird sounds and a synth. What Do You Want From Me is one of the songs on teh album with its own sound, it's very much this albums Learning To Fly, good but not brilliant, and with some solid lead guitar work. Poles Apart is one of my favourites and a rather unusual song. Here, Syd and Roger are mentioned in the lyrics, and there's almost a sense of remorse within the song as Gilmour harks back to old days. Marooned is an excellent guitar instrumental, it really does remind you of being, well, marooned on a desert island. Here, Gilmours legendary musical creativity as well as his undeniable skill and beautiful tone are all showcased. The next two, A Great Day For Freedom and Wearing The Inside Out are my least favourites of the album, and the two after that have a very similar sound (Take It Back and Coming Back To Life) although the latter is a brilliant song indeed. Keep Talking, i find this song rather mediocre but i could probably enjoy it more if i tried, i just don't think Stephen Hawking computer generated voice goes very well in the song at all. Saying that though i may love it a little more if i didn't skip it so much. Lost For Words sounds, again, similar to other songs on the album, though it's not a bad song. Nice guitar work and probably some Waters-related lyrics in there, but a good song. High Hopes is a terrific finale, with everything that's good above thrown into it: musical genius, good lyrics, magnificent guitar work (classical and lap steel). But it still has this feeling of being the same as most other songs on the album.

This is a good album, with some great songs on it...to make an album like this after all that's been said and done is very respectable. Just a little bit of variation would not have gone a miss!